OK, mabye we are both correct......


Although the exact origin of the yellow ribbon still remains a mystery, the tradition of wearing yellow ribbons may date back to the Civil War when the U.S. Cavalry was symbolized by yellow piping on their uniforms. Women who were married to or dating soldiers wore yellow ribbons as they waited for their sweethearts to return from battle. Historians believe this practice was commemorated in the 1917 song "Around Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon."

The yellow ribbon debuted on movie screens in 1949 in the cavalry epic "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" starring John Wayne and Joanne Dru. The Academy Award-winning movie was the second in director John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy."

In 1973, Tony Orlando and Dawn sang the popular song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" (written by Erwin Levine and L. Russell Brown). This time, the sentiment expressed wasn't about soldiers at war. Instead, it tells of a convict who returns home to find a yellow ribbon tied around an oak tree - a symbol of his lover's desire to see him again.

Yellow ribbons really caught on as a symbol of patriotism in 1979 during the Iranian hostage crisis, when Penne Laingen, wife of hostage Bruce Laingen tied a large yellow ribbon around a tree in front of their home near Washington, D.C. The idea spread around the country to symbolize hope for the hostages safe return home. When the 52 hostages returned after 444 days in captivity, the Laingen family donated the huge ribbon to the Library of Congress.

It does look like the song is indeed WWI, sorry for arguing with you. But, there is a precedent.